The new "must have" position in the NBA right now is the point guard position. In the past it was clearly big men but now the style of NBA basketball has changed. It is more uptempo and fast and relies on teams having capable floor generals. There are many great point guards in the league right now and also some to keep an eye on for the future. I have provided different categories ranking the point guards in the NBA.

The Elite list speaks for itself. Its clear that Derrick Rose is the best point guard in the league and that is a lot to say considering the fact that he is ahead of Chris Paul but he has earned that status, he simply does it all and most of all he is winning lots of games. Steve Nash still makes this list considering the fact that he is still leading the league in assists despite the fact that Phoenix is short on talent and the fact that he is now 38 years old. I have Rondo ahead of Westbrook by a hair and that is because of all the intangibles that Rondo provides. He might be the one of the best all around players in the league and for that he deserves to be ahead of Westbrook, though that may not last long with how good Westbrook is playing. Tony Parker is on the list for good reason, anyone who disagrees, I simply ask you to check his statistics. He is so consistent year after year and gets overshadowed by the more glamorous names on the list (side note on Parker is that he has more championships than any other point guard in the league besides Derek Fisher, that has to count for something).

As for the future stars, I think Kyrie Irving is going to be a very good player in this league, maybe even an all-star. He has been very impressive throughout his rookie campaign and he has a great coach in Byron Scott to groom him. Ricky Rubio may be the most exciting player to watch right now. Many basketball fans have had their eyes on him since he was 15 years old playing pro basketball in Spain. Rubio has exceeded my expectations in his first season. When I watched tape on him before the season, I just wasn't sure he would be effective in the NBA. I knew he was good but I thought he would be more of a project than he actually turned out to be. I love his upside and I think Minnesota as team has a very bright future ahead. Brandon Jennings shows flashes of greatness, when he gets hot he is unstoppable. If Jennings could just show more maturity and consistency, I think he has a chance at being an all-star at some point in his career. I am not a huge fan of John Wall, I though he was over-hyped coming out of college and I still think he has a lot of improving to do before he can be considered amongst the best point guards. It seems like he has a Stephon Marbury-like attitude to me. He does not seem to be very encouraging with his teammates and it seems like he just thinks he is better than he actually is in reality and I hope he puts in the work to take his game to the next level because he does have a lot of skills. Unfortunately, the Wizards are a mess and he lacks a mentor that could help him learn certain aspects of the game.

The veterans are basically guys who are either past their prime or are just good enough to give some quality minutes without being an all-star so to speak. Kyle Lowry is enjoying an excellent season and may have the most upside on this list. Felton and Nelson can also both be dangerous if put in the right situations. Andre Miller just knows the game, he has been underrated for years now, yet, he can still make excellent plays.

Overall, with so many point guards in the league and with the position so high in demand. I think it is important to recognize which players can separate themselves from the rest.

Nearly 2 weeks into this 66 game NBA season so much has already happened. With just a short part of the season underway, what headlines have been the most notable? Well here are a few things that have grabbed my attention thus far:

1) Being a New York Knicks fan, their slow start (2-4 record) has been very noticeable for me. I know this team probably needed a full training more than any other team. They acquired Carmelo Anthony at the trade deadline last year and Tyson Chandler this offseason and have not had any preparation time to build any chemistry or flow on either end of the floor. With that being said, they have also had to deal with injuries early on this season (Amare Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert, Jared Jeffries, Mike Bibby and ofcourse Baron Davis) which has also contributed to their slow start. They were supposed to be better on defense this year with the addition of Chandler but have only showed it in spurts thus far. I think there is still a ton of room for improvement on the Knicks and the 2 most important things that will lead to improvement are (1) Consistent effort on defense by the whole team but especially Carmelo and Amare, as the leaders of this team, they need to lead by example (2) the health and production of Baron Davis, I believe Baron still has a lot of game in him and he addresses a lot of the problems that the team is currently suffering through. Another thing to pay attention to with the Knicks is the job status of Mike D'Antoni. I think D'Antoni will not last through the season if the Knicks do not improve drastically and even if he does he is in the last year of his deal and the guy who hired him, Donnie Walsh, is no longer in charge. Questions about "retired coach" Phil Jackson will surely arise. Doesn't it seem like going back to the Knicks (was a player for the Knicks and on their last championship team in 1972) and having success there, is the only thing missing from the Zenmaster's illustrious career. I think the Knicks will turn it around and make a nice run...........or at least I hope so.

2) The Minnesota Timberwolves have become one of the most exciting teams to watch this season. Ricky Rubio has been great thus far for the team and the city. Kevin Love is looking like an all-star again. JJ Barea has produced nicely and the team is just filled with so much young talent. This team has the same vibe that the OKC Thunder had a couple years back. I don't expect them to make the playoffs this year but they are on the cusp of being a very good team for years to come. One thing to keep an eye on for the T'Wolves is Michael Beasley. I think Beasley is very talented but from what I have seen this year, he just doesn't seem to fit in. He still seems to be a bit selfish on the floor and I just think he becomes expendable if Derrick Williams continues to play well. I am curious to see if they try and trade him for another veteran player to help this team grow. Regardless, I think the future is looking bright in Minnesota.

3) "The Injury Bug" has hit several teams this year already. Stephen Curry injuring his ankle 3 times in 5 games has to be concerning for Warriors fans out there. I had to make a note of that. It seems like he rolls his ankle every time he plays. You would hate to see a player that young have chronic ankle problems. Hopefully that is not the case and he takes some time to allow himself to heal before getting back on the court too fast. Zach Randolph, who was one of the main reasons for the Grizzlies success last year, is out 6-8 weeks with a knee injury. That could seriously damper the hopes of Memphis buliding on last year's success especially in a shortened season. Manu Ginobili is out at least 6 weeks with a broken hand, this is devastating to the Spurs as he is the primary scorer and playmaker on this aging roster. It will be interesting to see how they fare while he is out. Kobe Bryant seems to be doing fine with his wrist injury thus far hopefully he can make it through the season because without him the Lakers will sink.

4) The World Champion Dallas Mavericks have had a rough start to their season (3-5 record) and have taken a beating in some of those losses. I think many of us expected them to decline a bit after losing Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler, DeShawn Stevenson and JJ Barea this offseason but I don't think anyone expected it to be this bad. Sure, they will improve once Lamar Odom and Vince Carter become more comfortable with the team, but I have to say they look old and don't look like a team that will be a real threat this year. The good news is they have a great coach in Rick Carlisle and he will do his best to right the ship.

5) The Miami Heat so far have looked dominant and unbeatable this year. They are playing at an extremely high level to start the season and have addressed may of the problems that they faced last year. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade have silenced the critics with their lack of three point attempts this year and are doing all of their damage closer to the basket. I think many other teams are wishing the critics would have kept their mouths shut and let them stay on the perimeter because those two may be the best finishers in the league right now and are starting to work really well together. I think they are more relaxed and are playing so good on both ends of the floor. Right now they are definitely the team to beat. One area they could improve on is working on beating those zone defense schemes. (That was hard for me to say considering I am a Heat hater, but I have to say the truth)

6) Sacramento Kings fired head coach Paul Westphal after only 7 games and after his clashing with DeMarcus Cousins. This was a little surprising and it seems like the Kings' owners chose to back their players over their coach on this one. My thought on that is Cousins and Tyreke Evans better be as good as the Kings expect them to be because they just got their coach booted.

These are just a few notable observations early in the season and I look forward to sharing more throughout the year. Overall, it has been an exciting start to the season and I can't wait to see what will happen next............